NBA Betting Strategies Used By Top Handicappers

With basketball being one of the most popular sports to bet on behind football, we are providing you with the best NBA betting strategies that all the top handicappers use. 

There are a ton of different ways to bet on the NBA. The basic NBA betting strategies will see sharps make the most out of moneyline betting, spread betting and totals. However, you can also wager on a surfeit of team props and player props. 

Equally, you don’t necessarily have to bet on just one particular game. Bettors can place wagers on futures markets such as division winners, conference winners and the overall championship winner. Below we have provided you with the best NBA betting strategies that are used by the top experts!

NBA Betting Strategies – The Fundamentals

We’ll kick off our NBA betting strategies guide by looking at the fundamentals. It’s always important to understand the basics before jumping into the advanced strategies. 

The basic techniques are similar to those that bettors will use across all sports. By following the key principles, you will have laid your foundations for success in betting on the NBA. 

All of the top handicappers have already mastered the basics in order to maximize their profits. You can find the most basic information on how to bet on basketball here. Let’s get into some NBA betting strategies!

Do Your Research

Like all sports betting strategies, the key is to research heavily and know the market you’re betting on inside out. The more you know about a particular matchup, the better your advantage is over the casual bettor. That’s why sharps are called sharps. They know the key information that regular bettors don’t. 

It’s also incredibly important to keep up to date with all the latest news. With games running nearly every day in the NBA throughout the regular season, there are always new updates that sharps will be taking note of before placing their wagers. 

Here are the top categories to research: 

• Latest injury news
• Form
• Trade news
• Schedule information

Information Fundamentals of Studying NBA

One of the fundamental NBA betting strategies that you MUST use is to check the injury report. With so many games on the schedule, teams will always pick up injuries. Even if one star player is out, it could make a big impact on the game. If you are able to find out this information as soon as possible, you are able to gain a better advantage over other bettors and potentially the oddsmakers. 

Like with all sports, bettors need to take a look at a team’s most recent form before making their picks. A team on a hot streak is more likely to carry that momentum into their next game. However, even if a team is having a good season, but is on a poor stretch, their chances of winning will be reduced.

Another one of the biggest NBA betting strategies is to keep track of a team’s particular rest. Some teams will gain rest advantages, and may be more fatigued if they have been on a road stint. 

Furthermore, teams across the NBA will play in road series. If a particular franchise is just coming off of a lengthy spell on the road, they may struggle in their next matchup, even if it is against weaker opposition. 

NBA Betting Strategies – Advanced Techniques

Researching a particular matchup is the most basic way to find out who is going to win a game. Professional handicappers will know where to gain the most reliable information when making their picks. 

Analyzing form and getting a storyline for a particular franchise is the best way to weigh up the chances they have at winning a game. If you then combine that with fellow news such as on the injury report, trade news and scheduling, you’re one step closer to matching the experts. 

However, cappers will examine statistics even further to become more successful. They will also utilize a bunch of different markets in order to turn the most profits. Sometimes, the moneyline isn’t offering the best value. Therefore, it may be better to target markets such as the spread or totals. 

Looking At The Points Spread

Betting on the point spread is yet another popular method in NBA betting strategies. The bookmakers will always offer a handicap to balance the odds. The favorite will start a certain number of points down before tip-off. Conversely, the underdog will start the game with a point advantage. 

A good way that top handicappers will make the most out of betting on spreads is to check the Against the Spread (ATS) trends. There are a bunch of resources online that will provide you with all the information you need. This will provide you with information on the NBA teams that have covered the spread the most over the course of the season. 

Moreover, you can break those stats down even further by looking at the ATS records for when a team is playing at home, on the road, is the favorite, the underdog etc. Some teams are better at covering the spread than others, and that doesn’t necessarily match up with the standings. 

The point differential statistic is a good one to look at when betting on the spread. It provides you with the average margin of victory (or loss) for each team. If a team has a higher point differential, that means they are winning by a greater margin. This could indicate whether they are a good team to back even if the spread is high. 

Looking At Wagering on Totals

One of the other popular NBA betting strategies is to wager on the game total. The bookmakers will set a line for the total number of points they think the game will have. Bettors then decide whether the total will hit under or over. 

An easy way to try and determine whether the game will go over or under is to look at the average points per game (PPG) for each team. If two teams are playing each other that score a lot of points, then it may be a good idea to back the over. 

However, the bookmakers are also aware of these stats. As a result, the line will reflect the trends over the course of the season, making it harder for bettors to decide whether or not to take the over or the under. 

Similarly to spreads, there are a bunch of resources online that provide you with the best over/under stats. This will breakdown which teams have most consistently hit the under and the over throughout the season. 

Like the ATS stats, you can filter the over/under stats even further into the following categories: 

• Home games
• Road games
• Home favorite
• Home underdog
• Road favorite
• Home underdog
• After a day’s rest
• 2-3 day’s rest 
• Rest advantage
• Rest disadvantage

NBA Betting Strategies For Team & Player Props 

Of course, NBA betting strategies don’t just cover the game outcomes. Sharps will also bet on team and player props throughout the season. As always, make sure that you are researching each team and player that you want to bet on. 

You can bet on team props such as:

• the race to “x” number of points
• team totals 
• quarter totals
• half totals 

It’s a good idea to check the recent form of a given team if you want to wager on team props. If a particular team is on a hot streak on offense, then they may be a good option to back on the over for the different totals props. 

Player props are always super fun to bet on too. You can see which players are scoring the most points per team online. These are the guys you should target when it comes to player props. 

Players across the NBA will go on hot streaks throughout the season. If a player is averaging a higher points total over the last few games compared to the rest of the season, it may be a good idea to target the over in his points total. 

Basketball Systems For Prop Models

A good tip to consider, though, is looking at the schedule and strength of schedule before placing your player prop picks. If a team is in the midst of a tough schedule, and are playing a lot of games back-to-back, coaches may be more likely to rest their star players. This can then limit their playing time and scoring opportunities as a result. 

Player props aren’t only limited to points. Bettors can also make picks on: 

• Assists
• Rebounds
• Blocks
• Steals 
• Turnovers  
• Three-pointers

Again, be sure to check the stats before placing your bets. You can find the team leaders for all of these categories online. 

Top handicappers will always assess the value of a bet before placing it. For example, say Luka Doncic is averaging 25 ppg this season. Over his last five games, he has scored 26, 31, 33, 21 and 36 points. That puts his average over the past five matchups at 29.4 ppg. 

As a result, you may think it’s almost a guarantee that Doncic will score over 26.5 points in his next matchup. However, the oddsmakers are also aware of his strong run, and have set the price for him to score over 26.5 points at -233. Since the odds are so short, it isn’t offering the best value, meaning handicappers may not opt to place this bet.